Now THAT'S What I'm Talking About (Parts I and II)!!!

Part I : The Chicago Blackhawks gave us another living example tonight of just how mentally tough this team really is. After being trounced 5-1 in Game 1 Saturday night, they were obviously looking to return the favor in Game 2 tonight. That favor was not easily returned though as the Hawks found themselves down 2-0 in the first period. Lesser teams might have panicked, but the Hawks nevertheless persevered by continuing their staple of killing penalties, scoring shorthanded goals (of which they are the best in the NHL), and riding the back of Antii Niemi who once again showed he doesn't have bad games twice in a row as he made 24 saves - one of which on a 3 on 1 shorthanded break and kept the score at 2-1. This win ties the series at 1 game a piece which is way better than being down 2-0 with Games 3 and 4 in Vancouver coming up. Way to go Blackhawks!

Part II : I just got a text from Jake Peavy after the game tonight and he paraphrased Shaq in his text by saying "Beard, tell me how my @SS Tastes!?" I'll be the first to admit, that it appears I was wrong about Jake's health as he looked spectacular against the Royals tonight. Peavy featured a nasty two seam fastball clocked between 93-95 MPH, and that wicked slider that fooled a whole lot of Royal hitters. Jake looked like the guy I remember winning the Cy Young in 2007 and the guy who pitched brilliantly in the last three games of his 2009 season as he posted 7 shutout innings, 9 strikeouts, and didn't give up a hit until the 5th inning in his first win of the season. Now that's a guy I don't mind paying $52 million for until 2012. Most importantly the Sox hitters seemed to look like they've played baseball before. Juan Pierre, Alexei Ramirez and A.J. Pierzynski finally realized that Andruw Jones, Paul Konerko and Alex Rios can't do it all by themselves as the Sox posted 11 hits and 5 runs on the night. Nothing like a little "Vitamin Royals" to make your team look better. Hopefully the Sox remember that they can play better than they have and spare themselves from being blown up.